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Faith and Fear in Flushing made its debut on Feb. 16, 2005, the brainchild of two longtime friends and lifelong Met fans.
Greg Prince discovered the Mets when he was 6, during the magical summer of 1969. He is a Long Island-based writer, editor and communications consultant. Contact him here.
Jason Fry is a Brooklyn writer whose first memories include his mom leaping up and down cheering for Rusty Staub. Check out his other writing here.
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Benevolent Municipal Rulers We
by Greg Prince on 21 May 2007 11:26 am Pitcher of last month Johnny Maine isn't necessarily Johnny May. Jose Reyes doesn't hit 14-year-olds particularly well. And 'em all we can't win.
Still, what a homestand. Two of three from the once-hot Brewers, three of four from the once-trendy Cubs and two of three from the once-relevant Yankees, all while the Braves were losing six of ten. David Wright found himself, Jorge Sosa remained resurrected and all five games that were close went our way. Even Scott Schoeneweis managed a scoreless inning Sunday night.
Life isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn good. Atlanta awaits…
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The game turned on Reyes's at-bat in the 2nd, IMHO…
Mr. Peepers was absolutely on the ropes. He'd just walked the pitcher to load the bases with 2 out and was down 3-1. The classic 2nd guess would be that Reyes should have taken & possibly driven in the 2nd run on a walk. But we'll never know…
Hi Greg,
Maine did get out of a couple of early inning jams and done in a little by a seeing-eye base hit; I also thought he was taken out too soon against the Cubbies and kept us in the game, despite not having his best stuff, in San Francisco, so while not his best outings, showing signs of vunerability along with the ability to pitch out of jams, neither can his last three starts be considered back-to-back-to-back “totally bad” performances.
That was my first guess… the little nerd was absoluely reeling, we should have put him away right then and there. Reyes walks, he panics and leaves one over the plate for Endy… oh well, positive thoughts. 3 with the Braves, none against Hudson. Time to put some distance between us.
The difference in the game was Clippard going 0-2 on everyone while Maine was going 2-0.
First pitch strikes make so much of a difference.
No matter. 2 out of 3 from the Yankees is a good weekend. And I did like Damian Easley ensuring that Mo Riviera didn't lower his ERA against us.
Not sure I'll ever quite get over being so soundly beaten by Clay Aiken. How humiliating.
Another point about Maine's performance last night and bad luck–Shawn Green positively sucks in right field. That little bloop hit that plated two runs would have been caught by a competent fielder, let alone Endy.
Scott Spiezio.
Grrrr.
I'm a little dissatisfied with this weekend to be honest, if not in the results than the taste. Beltran and Delgado barely showed up, we were shut down by a zitfaced kid, and nearly blew everything the Yankee gave us on Saturday. The solid positives were David Wright's reawakening, Heilman's third out Saturday and Wagner/Chavez on Friday.
Otherwise, yecch.
Two out of three from the Evil Empire, 7-3 on the homestand.
Dude, you're tough to satisfy.
W's don't come with style points.
I was at the game, and the guy next to me was fuming! He just ripped Green to shreds for not catching that ball – and ranted that Gomez would've had it.
good times.
While concerned, don't see any need to worry about our Johnny at this point – if he's not keeping us in the lead, he is doing the job keeping us in the game.
Don't forget – we're still only talking about the number three starter!
I like Shawn Green. He seems like a very nice guy, and he's worked hard to prove that accounts of his offensive demise were quite premature.
But he cannot play the outfield. He seems routinely to get lousy reads on balls, which leaves him a stride short on gappers and bloopers.
Was Green always a liabilty on defense? Judging from those bad reads, I'm guessing yes.
Even my dog knew what pitch was coming, and I am sure Jose knew too, and had visions of a gapper to drive in a couple. In a year or two Jose will be good at slappng those balls where he needs 'em. But these days he still pops them up too often. He's gotta work Olerud-style on avoiding pointless popups just as he has worked on avoiding pointless strikeouts. But he will — you can see on his face that he knows he needs to.
I thought he looked like the kid in “Field of Dreams”, Archibald “Moonlight” Graham.
Not Burt Lancaster, of course – the teenage, stepped-out-of-the-past-and-into-the-VW-Minibus version.
Difference is, this kid from the Yankees has one hit in his career.
Indeed, the guy who screamed “NO MERCY!” in Karate Kid got his comeuppance. Not that I would ever prescribe mercy in a situation where we are in a position to administer it.
The Mets have rarely clicked on all cylinders simultaneously this year yet they're 28-15.
The rap on them before this homestand was they weren't winning at home. They just put that behind them.
It was said that they weren't winning the close ones in April. They just won all the close ones they played at Shea (though the last close one, Saturday, should come with an asterisk to indicate it grew needlessly close).
They were embarrassed in the second games of their series with Milwaukee and Chicago and answered back brilliantly in the third games.
They won a tense pitching duel on Friday and a wacky slopfest Saturday.
They even threw in a miracle finish Thursday.
Last night? I won't say it was a fluke exactly, but you can only set things up so perfectly — our best pitcher to date versus an emergency callup who violates child labor laws — before discovering they don't work to plan. I thought Maine had wriggled out of his troubles early and I thought Reyes was going to bust it open right after. I thought wrong twice. (And as Metstradamus noted, there's apparently a court order restraining Shawn Green from coming within ten feet of any fly ball.) As dangerous as it is to one's rotator cuff, sometimes you just gotta tip your cap toward the other dugout and say “nice job, kid.”
Kid being the operative term.
I'm satisfied with 2-1, 3-1 and 2-1 though I'd be way more satisfied with 10-0. But that goes without saying.
Swear to gosh he needs glasses. Or if he's wearing contacts, he needs new ones.
Don't get me started on this, you guys. All I will say is one ancient bookend down, one to go.
How's Mr Green's 1B capability?
When does it become officially OK to start worrying about Carlos? Let's face it, his “heroics” this week consisted of a walk and a seeing-eye single that could have been a game-ending DP.
Does anybody else feel like me?
Somehow, I'm not feeling the kick I thought I would having taken two out of three from the Yankees. Nor do I feel so much a loss since we lost to them last night.
True, had the Yankees been 25-15, I would be feeling more satisfaction, even after last night, but with the Braves coming up, I'm feeling as good about the Mets taking two out of three from the Yankees as I do taking two out of three from the Cubs, Brewers and Giants.
I was hyped up on Friday, continued it on Saturday, but when losing Sunday didn't make me lose any sleep, I realized I was more concerned with Atlanta tomorrow night. The Yankees needed these games because now every game is vital so the satsifaction would have come from knocking them out further.
If the Yankees are back in it by mid-June and the Mets still neck in neck with Atlanta, those games will feel more important than just the bragging rights they were the past weekend.
Emily and I were disappointed that we couldn't summon up instant hatred for Mr. Clippard. I guess our innate sympathy for brand-new major leaguers who look 15 outweighed our visceral loathing of the Vertical Swastika.
Should he stick around (and that deceptive top of his delivery ought to give him a chance), I'm sure I'll manage to bring the hostile.
The ESPN radio announcers said Rivera, with the quad surrendered to Easley, has now given up as many dongs this year already as he did all of last year. They also noted that Rivera just doesn't have the same “pop” he used to have, that he never would have allowed so many foul-offs before. I really think the Yankees stand or fall on Rivera, almost completely. If he gets his stuff back, they could mount a countercharge; if not, they will continue to be Unfresh Toasted.
But Clippard might be pretty good. I mean, it's not insignificant to virtually shut out a team like the Mets in your first start. I give him some props.
As I remarked to my cousin, and Yankee fan, who i brought to the game last night, It didn't matter what happened last night, or all weekend. The Yankees could've swept and It would been nothing compared with how I felt walking out of Shea after game 7 last year. I'm looking forward to Atlanta, to the division, I'm not even concerned with going to Yankee Stadium next month. I almost made a 13 hour trip to Atlanta to see two of the games, but decided it was a bit too far.
Easy, Laurie. The Mets are nowhere near first place without the offensive contributions to date of those ancient bookends as you astutely call them. When Moises returns it would probably make sense to put Green at first on occasion and put Endy in right. It'll never happen, but I think it has merit.
Shawnee's played 125 games at first in his career. Made a few appearances there in spring training this year, I think. He wouldn't be the worst option there once in a while to give Delgado a blow, though it's hard to imagine the situation in which Willie would rest C-Del, a lefty, and play Green, a lefty, at his position.
As endorsed in this space earlier this season, nobody should be immune from a day or two of watching and learning. That includes Delgado who still looks very lost.
Gomez is obviously talented, but he's played in six games to date. I'm not quite ready to bounce Green and/or Alou in his favor. Though it is tempting.
Endy can play anywhere, anytime.
Mr. Maine and I have some serious issues to work out. He has started the last four games that I've attended at Shea, and he has been shaky every single time.
Where's that April Pitcher of the Month form that I've been hearing so much about?
I thought he looked like the kid in “Field of Dreams”, Archibald “Moonlight” Graham. Not Burt Lancaster, of course – the teenage, stepped-out-of-the-past-and-into-the-VW-Minibus version.
Let's hope young Mr. Clippard takes up medicine by mid-June.
I love, still, the trade that brought him here and I recognize that he's an exemplary human being. I bring no hate to any Carlos Delgado discussion.
But we might be watching a player in serious, irreversible decline. I actually thought as much last year. While it's usually switch hitting second basemen acquired from Cleveland that lose it this fast, we know it does happen on occasion.
I hope I'm dead wrong.
His situation bears monitoring (like we've got anything else to do), but if anything separates Mr. Delgado from those Tribesmen gone awry, it's 2006. We got a helluva year and a mostly magnificent postseason out of him. Won't say anything else will be gravy, but it's a comparison that hadn't occurred to me.
If he does, judging by the looks of things perhaps young Mr. Clippard should consider dermatology.
I know, that was mean.
Eh. He's a Yankee.
Fuck him.
David Wright: Groaned in April, great in May
John Maine: Ruled in April, rotted in May
Is there some kind of zero-sum rule? And does it mean that Delgado wil get good in June and somebody else will then have to suck for two months?
That helluva 2006 included a three month swoon in which Delgado looked only slightly better than he does now. The Mets were running away with things so it went largely unnoticed.
And to pick another nit, his (admittedly) mostly magnificent postseason was essentially one monster game against the Dodgers and one against St. Louis.
Again, hope like hell I'm wrong.
Standings-wise, it's no more important than beating the Cubs or Brewers. But so much more gratifying. I walked into Rolling Roaster in Sheepshead Bay on the way home from Shea Saturday sporting my rain-soaked “yeah, I was there” Mets sweatshirt and hat and a grin a mile wide that only got wider when I looked at sad-looking Yankee fans. It was also nice to attend a Mass on Sunday refreshingly free of Yankee apparel; usually it's rank with vertical swastikas. (Maybe I should try throwing Holy Water).
But yeah, now let's get down to important business.
I, of course, was never a fan of the Delgado-Jacobs trade, but to Carlos' credit, he's turned out to be quite a positive element of this team's dynamic, even when he's not hitting. Also, the Mets have shown that they can win even when their clean-up hitter is pretty futile at the plate. In this line up, he doesn't have the pressure on him that Piazza did in '99 and 2000 and afterwards as he faded.
But here's what I've noticed. In spite of his meticulous notebooks, pitchers seem to beat him pretty much the same way every time. They pitch him high and tight and down and away, alternately, and right now, for the most part, he can't handle it, especially with the shift. He's got tremendous power, so even with his mechanics inconsistent, and holes in his swing, he's still capable of getting in a groove and muscling some balls into the gap or even out of the park.
Delgado hit a little over .300 the year before he came here. That's not gonna happen again, but, as we saw last year, to some degree, he can still recover and drive some guys in even when his batting average is unpleasant to look at. So I concur with the above; let's keep an eye on him. If he still looks this lost by the next leg of the Subway Series, then we can start really worrying.
“it's hard to imagine the situation in which Willie would rest C-Del, a lefty, and play Green, a lefty, at his position.”
The sitch I have in mind is “This guy is hitting like Mike Bordick and killing more rallies than A-Rod in October… maybe I should put a .300 hitter in his spot for a couple of days and make some time for my phenom in RF.” Nothing permanent (I hope), just like you said – some time to clear his head.
Wow, it would suck if this is what Carlos has become, but like folks have said, it's not exactly unprecedented for Blue Jays to come here and stink up the joint.
Maine had an ace-quality ERA in April, rarely allowed the Big Hit, and managed to rack up a decent number of Ks in the process. But one of his peripherals has looked shaky all year and now it is manifesting itself more prominently.
Maine has walked at least one batter in every single one of his starts (including 6 twice). That puts him at 4.88 walks per nine innings. It was the walk to the incredibly light-hitting Mientkiewicz that set up Maine's meltdown last night.
Maine's WHIP has also expanded to an unsightly 1.38…that's a lot of base runners. What that says to me is the Maine has done a great job managing jams, but now it's starting to get to him a bit. He's also struggled at Shea, as you've witnessed first hand, Inside Pitcher, which is odd considering it is a pitchers' park.
Hopefully Johnny Maine will get his control back and rediscover the consistency he was on the verge of developing.
Also, considering the struggles the Mets have displayed against rookie starters over the years, I think we can chalk up yesterday's disappointing defeat (at the hands of an apparently pubescent padawan of a pitcher) to an ongoing team habit that we haven't quite shaken.
Game 2 of 69' Series tonight. FNY..Kooz baffels O's..
7-3 Homestand. As for the Yanks..Absolute wreck of a team right now. It always feels good to beat them! I cant gloat in May. I did feel slightly superior to several Yankee fans today.
On to Atlanta! Game on!!
Rich
Olerud was pretty good, though.
OK, losing to the Yankees — ever — makes steam come out of my ears. But!
…how fucking cute was that kitten in the bullpen?
How cute! Let's name him Mo Rivera!
Wait scratch that. (groan)
How about we call the kitten “Rube Walker”
I love love love that place.
Too late, I already named him “Little Endy Cat”.
That kitten made my night. Putting aside the cute, plush and adorable overtones that are not appropriate to a 6-2 defeat, is there a more perfect personification (or felinization) of the Mets?
So asks the cat person.
The Skanks? Some putz in one of their road jerseys lit up a cigarette in the box seats in the ninth. I hope Easley smoked him with a foul line drive before homering off Rivera.
I'll take the kitty every freaking time.
There was a kitten in the bullpen? How did I not see that? Are there pics anywhere??
ESPN showed a clip from batting practice of a grounds crew member unfurling the tarp-like piece of artificial turf they lay over home plate for BP. And when it unfurled, a kitten with white socks jumped out, stared at the guy, looked around and scampered underneath the batting cage and out of sight.
They showed this in the ninth inning, indicative of the competitive nature of the game, but still. KITTY!
(Cat person stripes showing…)
and here my take was: oh yeah, one of those feral creatures that terrify even the dogs at the chop shops.
The Mets are kittens, the Yankees are cigarette butts. Works for me.
What impressed me most was how much air that kitten got when it sprung out of the rolled up turf thing. He shot straight up!
Based on that, let's name him Endy.
The video was on YouTube, but was removed because of a copyright claim by MLB. Because if I could see 20 seconds of game footage around a shot of a kitten being unrolled from a tarp, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY HAVE NO POSSIBLE REASON TO BUY A DVD OF THE METS' 2007 SEASON.
Morons.
Anyway, someone will post it again soon, so keep an eye out.
I'm betting it will happen.
Actually I can't think of many Blue Jays whom one would think of as Blue Jays who have had their wings notoriously clipped as Mets. Jeff Kent wasn't pleasant, but he wasn't exactly a Toronto icon (nor a complete bust as a Met). Bob Bailor was a great find. Chris Woodward had one very good year. Maybe Tony Fernandez, but he came by way of the Padres.
That Olerud guy worked out pretty well. And I'm holding firm for Delgado and even Green, each late of somewhere outside of Canada.